


A Strange New Bond

by FeralPrince56



Series: Goro Week 2019 [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Gen, Goro Week 2019, Lot's of self-Loathing, hints at shuake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 09:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20758202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeralPrince56/pseuds/FeralPrince56
Summary: Caught standing at a nearby bakery for hours, Akechi has to explain his behaviour to one of the people he's supposed to be investigating while getting taunted by his chattier persona.





	A Strange New Bond

Akechi’s fully aware of just how terrible it would be if someone found out what he was doing. After all he had little reason to be standing around a bread shop at 5 in the afternoon for two hours, but at the same time, did he really have anything better to do?

Oh absolutely. Standing around in the subway in hopes that his target would show up in his usual meeting spot was a terrible, god-awful idea and yet he couldn’t help but do it for the fourth time that week, unfortunately to no avail.

Then again if his hunch about Ren Amamiya being the leader of the Phantom Thieves was right then he was just doing his job... right? In fact, if he really wanted to prove that what he was doing was justified, he could argue that he was just following up on a lead on his prime suspect and that included staking out the underpass of the subway.

He was just doing his job. Nothing more, nothing-

“Hey Akechi!”

Startled by the sudden interruption, he looks away from the underpass and finds Ann Takamaki almost in his face, impossible to avoid or escape from. How long had she been there? Was she onto him? Why was she even talking to him in the first place?

“Oh... hello Takamaki-chan, I didn’t expect to see you here,” he lies expertly. His hunch was right, it had to be. Which meant that she was one of the Phantom Thieves as well, which meant that she would absolutely be around Ren at their hideout. He had as much chance running into her here as he did his initial target, “Are you perhaps interested in buying bread?”

The moment he asks her the question Loki comes barging into his thoughts, making his head hurt with how angry the persona has become.

** _Bread? Bread?! She’s a model and one of your suspects and you’re asking her about bread?! Ask her about the weather while you’re at it, I’m sure they’ll make you sound less psycho!_ **

As much as he hated to admit it, Loki did have a point. His charm clearly took a bad hit from all of the plotting and <strike>stalking</strike> investigating he was doing. Whatever. He wasn’t here to impress her. He wasn’t here to impress anyone. He was here to do his job.

He stands by the question and calmly awaits her answer.

“Ahaha, actually no,” Ann laughs it off awkwardly and shuffles around on her feet, “I just saw you hanging here by yourself and wandered over!”

** _Pitying you like the lost puppy that you are. You deserve it after that terrible opener._ **

It’s Akechi’s turn to laugh awkwardly as he tries to answer while simultaneously completely ignoring Loki’s taunts, “Oh yes, well, I have some free time and I’m trying to figure out how to use it wisely. I decided waiting here was best since it allows me to quickly go wherever I desire.”

** _Oh wow this stupid crush took away your ability to speak and your brains, the only two useful things about you._ **

Ann raises an eyebrow and a sly grin appears on her face, “Are you sure about that? Because I swear I keep seeing you here every day, in this exact spot. You sure do seem to have a lot of time on your hands, huh? Don’t you have a case to work on?” She says, playing innocent but her terrible acting gives away just how much she’s insinuating that she knows the truth.

Akechi pulls at the collar of his shirt, loosening his tie ever so slightly in the process. Then again, given the situation he would be all for tightening it till he passed out just to avoid this conversation.

How was it this hard for him to outsmart the girl who he thought was the dumbest member of the group? Maybe he underestimated her. Or put way too much faith in his own skills when he’s caught completely off guard, “That must have been someone else,” he replies, but his speech becomes a little too quick for his liking, “I don’t normally have time to simply dawdle around you know.”

“Mhm,” Ann hums but it’s clear that she doesn’t believe him for a second, “So you’re saying that you haven’t been pinning after Ren and coming here for the past week hoping to catch him, right?”

Passing out wouldn’t be enough. A noose. A noose would be good. Just anything to get him away from this woman, this conversation and all of the implications behind it. She’s delusional, obviously. Why would he of all people be pinning after Ren? He’s a _suspect_, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. That insinuation is absurd.”

“So are you here to buy bread then?” Ann asks with a straight face, “Didn’t know it took you two hours to choose something. I thought detectives would be more decisive than that.”

Mementos. That’s where he’d live out the rest of his pathetic life. It’s the only option now.

Akechi lowers his voice, takes Ann’s arm and pulls her to the side, away from prying ears, “I’m sure you already know this but I’ve begun looking into the Phantom Thieves. I believe this is where they meet up and as such I’ve been staking the place out. Please don’t take me for some perverted student with too much time to waste. I’m here to do my job and quite frankly you are getting in the way of me doing that.”

** _Wow didn’t know it would take you eighteen years to grow a pair and yet here we are!_ **

“Shut up,” Akechi whispers sharply.

“What was that?” Ann asks, not quite catching it.

Akechi just shakes his head, “It was nothing. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do-.”

“I don’t buy it,” Ann folds her arms.

“You... don’t... buy it?”

“No I don’t,” Ann reiterates, “if you were investigating there’s no way you’d get all flustered like you did before. So either you’re actually really fake and scripted on TV and you don’t know how to talk to people in real life or I’m right. And our conversation back at the studio is kinda making me lean towards that second one.”

Akechi rolls his eyes, still trying to play his investigation card but it’s not working. He resorts to asking questions himself in an attempt to regain control of the situation, “Hypothetically, if you were correct and I am stalking Amamiya-kun, what exactly would you do with that information?”

Ann giggles, no longer able to keep a straight face. She swats at him playfully, “Wow you really have been a detective for a long time, huh? I’m not looking to blackmail you or anything, I wanna help!”

Akechi blinks a few times, replaying the last few seconds of what just happened in his mind just to be sure that he heard correctly, “You.... what? Help? Why?”

“Cos I think you’d make a really cute couple!” Ann claps her hands together, “Besides I want to get away from modelling for a bit and help out my friends!”

“We’re not friends,” Akechi replies immediately, his tone making him sound disgusted by the thought.

Ann laughs and puts a hand on his shoulder, “Of course we are! Friends help friends get together with their other friends, right?”

_That’s not why I’m doing this! You know what? No, this is for the best. Just let her think you’re infatuated with Re- Amamiya and it’ll be over soon_.

Akechi folds his arms, “I suppose you’re right... in that case, shall we exchange phone numbers? With all of this, Uh, chatter I didn’t notice that I should actually be getting back to work.”

He picks up his briefcase hastily and bolts out from the underpass, just barely catching himself when he almost trips over.

In the background, Ann hears a snort coming from behind the pillar behind her. Knowing exactly who it was, she turns around and finds Ryuji, Yusuke and Makoto hiding behind the pillar and waiting for her. She skips over, “So, phase one of Get Ren Dicked is complete. Onto phase two!”

"I still think this is a shitty idea," Ryuji tells her and rubs the back of his head, "But uh... if you think Ren would actually want this then I guess I gotta help my bro out. Even if it means helping Akechi too."


End file.
